Chapter 77: Unbroken


DPOV

~Back at the Prison~

Seeing Kat, up and trying to move around in her room, she was pretty beat up, scarred all over her body, beaten, bruised. She looked like hell but she still stood. She always did. At least, this was what she was proving to all of us by being here.

When she noticed me staring, she turned slowly to face me. "Daryl?" she was curious to find me there. "Is everything okay?" she wondered if I was alright, if my emotions were in tact after all that happened to me.

After losing Merle, I felt a little empty inside. He wasn't perfect, but he was still my brother. "Hmm," I grunted out a response. "Jus' checking," I gave her a brief answer.

Silence filled the air while Kat slowly took her seat on her bed. Needing the rest before all of us took off to get Andrea back. "It was real stupid what you did," I broke the silence after a few seconds.

Leaning against the wall, I watched her as her head turned to me slowly and her expression became angry. "Excuse me?" her tone proved that she wasn't in the mood to be messed with.

"What you did, it was dumb," I repeated it to her, answering her more bluntly. "You went back to the Governor, thinking you would be safe, only to get kidnapped and now, Andrea could be in danger for helping you," I listed everything stupid she did.

"It was stupid," I said the words I said before, only a little louder and a little slower.

Her eyes were angry as she shifted a little to look right at me. "I did it, thinking it would help us," Kat argued. "I thought if I was in there, I could control the situation," she explained why she went back to Woodbury. "I thought I could find out information and keep everyone safe."

Her plan though, it clearly hadn't worked. "You were wrong," I growled. "I would never put myself in a position like that," I grumbled, trying to put myself in her shoes but I just couldn't see it.

"I thought it would give us the upper hand," Kat's eyes were softer as she spoke to me.


PRESENT DAY...DPOV

Day after day, or so I assumed, as I was fed at hours I didn't know were regular or irregular. The only glimpse of the sun I had, was when my door was opened. Other days, I was stuck in my cell, forced to eat dog food in bread, naked, cowering in the corner, sat in the dark. Music was blaring day after day, a happy tune I now knew off by heart.

We're on Easy Street. And it feels so sweet. 'Cause the world is but a treat. When you're on Easy Street. And we're breaking out the good champagne. I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train. And when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats. Right here on Easy Street. Let's have a moment in the sun. The magic's only just begun. It's time to have a little fun. We want everybody to come and see why you should be. On Easy Street. Yeah, we got a front-row seat. Oh, to a life that can't be beat. Right here on Easy Street.

Every time the music would come on, I either had to sit there and listen to it, or force myself to sleep through it. I knew they were trying to torture me, to break me but I had to stay as strong as I could.

The only thing that kept me going, was Kat, her face as they took me and I needed to do this for everyone else I cared about. For people like Maggie and Sasha. They can try and break me but I won't ever let them break me completely.

I didn't know what day it was, what time it was, to me it was all the same and I had to keep at it. I had to stay focused, I needed to stay hopeful that I was going to get out and return to Kat, to the others.

Eventually, the feeding times were regular and I got used to the dog food sandwich. There was no need to complain because at least it was better than shit. Or dog shit. Eating whatever they gave me, one of those days, Dwight tossed me clothes I could finally wear.

Slipping them on, needing the warmth, I hated that they were keeping me locked, like the prisoner I was. I didn't care for myself, I cared for those back home and kept living because of them. Because that was what I did best.

Even when I tried to sleep, I had nightmares of Glenn, of Abraham and when it wasn't that, I was lucky to get a dream of Kat. Or Carol. Or Carl. Or someone that was still breathing. When I did sleep, when it was decent, I would be forced awake by the music.

These people were torturing me and torturing me good but eventually, they would have to pull me from this cell, or so I hoped. Which, they did. My crossbow in Dwight's hand, he dragged me to my feet and forced me out of my cell.


KPOV

Days, nights, all of it I spent them mostly alone. If I could, I'd visit Judith, look after her and most nights, I'd sit there and watch her sleep. After crying into my pillow for hours, every night, I hated sleeping in an empty bed and needed something to keep my mind off my thoughts, my nightmares.

Some nights, I'd hear my father check in on me before he went to bed. Other nights, I felt Michonne checking in on me before she went to bed. Then there were some nights, I knew Carl had listened to me crying into my pillow as he checked up on me before bed.

The only one who didn't check on me, because she couldn't was Judith. My nights were lonely, as Daryl was held captive by Negan, the thought of that alone, made me cry. Which then reminded me of Glenn, of Abraham and the thoughts of Daryl with him, made me fear for his life.

Is he alive? Is he safe? Is he being fed properly? Are they beating him almost to death every day? Do they force him to sleep on the floor? Does he have any clothes on? Do they let him shower? Or see the sun? Is he alright? Does he miss me like I miss him?

Thoughts clouded my every thought of what they could be doing to him. From cutting him up for the hell of it, to beating him, to torturing him. All of it. It made it hard for me to sleep. Everyone was noticing it. Night after night.

Clutching onto my pillow one night, my tears were silent but they flowed onto my pillow, staining it with my pain. Carl's footfalls were faint but heavy enough, that I knew it was him. Dad's were always heavy and slow. Michonne's were light and quick, almost far too faint for me to realise she was there. That was how I knew the difference.

"Kat?" Carl's little voice called to me but I couldn't turn to look at him. Every night, I left the door opened, because sometimes, I wished Daryl would walk through it and come back to me.

I had dreamed a few times too, that Daryl had come back, held me in his arms and told me he loved me. When I'd open my eyes, the bed was empty and I would return to crying into my pillow.

"Do you want me to sleep with you tonight?" Carl asked me, politely as he worried for me, possibly more than my dad did. Dad is too worried about everyone. "Like when we were kids?" Carl asked again.

"No," I refused his offer, which was completely unlike me. I never said no to him. "I want to be alone tonight," I answered him.

Being alone, reminded me that Daryl was still out there. It gave me a fuel I was trying to build up inside me. The more I cried, the more I was determined to do something about this. I need to get him back.

"Okay..." Carl whispered softly before he walked away and returned to his room.

Then, the endless cycle carried on. As days passed and I continued to worry for Daryl. I continued to cry into my pillow. Have long days and equally long nights. Nothing eventful but enough to mostly keep me busy, if I wished it to.


DPOV

Leading me down halls, where people would mop the floor, wearing similar letters to the one I wore, they would part from the hall to give us room. The halls were filled with red doors, or green ones, ones I assumed were either of prisoners like me, or their living spaces.

Being shoved once I reached a red door with a red chair parked in front of it, I assumed this was Negan's room. Down another hall, we eventually came across a room, Dwight's hand grasping my collar as he lead me in first.

"Carson," Dwight called to the doctor inside.

My eyes landed on the woman sat on examination chair. "We were just finishing up," the doctor reassured Dwight there was no problems here.

"Chop-chop," Dwight ordered.

Noticing who the girl was, I quickly averted my gaze. She's the girl who was with Dwight. Sherry. "Hi, D," Sherry greeted Dwight as she slipped off the chair.

Dwight seemed surprised to catch her here too. "Hey," Dwight greeted her back.

Gradually, the girl noticed me, her eyes were on me and I looked away. "Daryl, right?" she remembered my face. Of course she would, I helped them, only to get stabbed in the back by them.

"Don't talk to him," Dwight snapped at her as he approached the doctor's tool table once tossing me to sit on the examining chair.

His eyes zoomed in on something from where he stood, Dwight was frozen and when I glanced at it, it appeared to be a kind of stick. "It's negative," Sherry informed him. A pregnancy test?

Dwight nodded, slowly. "Well, maybe next time," Dwight tried to sound positive about this. If he is the father, shouldn't he be upset about not having a baby with her?

The pair had given me a vibe before, that they were together. That they were a couple, before the whole mess. Carson began clearing things out. The way they look at each other. They were in love. "Sorry. Still getting used to being my own assistant," the doctor apologised as he put everything of this check up away.

Sherry slowly stepped closer to me, only a step, but it was enough to get close to me. "Whatever they say...just do it," Sherry advised me.

"I said don't talk to him," Dwight snapped again, warning her to leave me alone and to go her own way.

Doing as he said, Sherry turned around and left the room. "Okay, let's take a look," the doctor began tugging on my shirt, to examine the bullet wound in my shoulder. The sound of the door closing made me glance to the door.

"It'll get better, if you let it," the doctor advised me to take care of myself. "Negan will take care of you. Trust me," the doctor sounded so sure about this.

After finishing with my check up, Dwight dragged me back up onto my feet, leading me possibly, back to my cell. Sight of Negan soon appeared from around the corner, being forced onto one knee, I heard Negan's chuckle.

Dwight had forced me to kneel with him but I didn't want to. "Dwighty boy," Negan called over to Dwight. "I need to talk to my associate for a minute. Go about your business," Negan announced to the workers behind us.

"Except for you," Negan gestured to me. "You, stand right there," Negan ordered the fat guy behind him.

Bringing me back to my feet, Dwight lead me to take a seat on the red seat from before. "Sit," Dwight ordered as he dumped me on the chair. The fat guy Negan ordered, had pointed a gun at me the second I sat down.

Glancing into the room, it's door wide open and the room itself, was big. Had it's own kitchen, a bed, a seat, books. All the kinds of things a person would need in a home. This isn't my home. It will never be my home. Home is with Kat, with Rick, with Carl, Carol. Home is Alexandria.

Next thing I knew, I was dragged up by my collar, up onto my feet by Dwight as he took me somewhere, that wasn't my cell. Where is he taking me?


RPOV

After looking for Kat, she wasn't anywhere near our home, or in our home, instead, she was up on a watch point. Or at least, this was what Rosita told me, a little annoyed with Kat's decision to just keep watch.

Finding Kat by the front gate, she had her bow on her back, along with her quiver filled with arrows. In her hands, was a gun, a sniper rifle. Climbing up to join her, I tried to catch my breath a little as I glanced to the distance, then at her.

"Rosita told me you were keeping a look out," I started up a conversation when she didn't say anything back to me.

Kat seemed to be concentrating, focused on what was coming from the distance, like she didn't care for anything. Her hair up in her signature clean pony tail, her eyes hard and cold, her lips puckered with anger and her body tense.

But there were bags under her eyes. She doesn't sleep. She hardly eats. Its like she's shutting herself down. "I needed to get out, I needed to have some fresh air," Kat was finally beginning to look after herself, as she should.

Nodding, I understood why she was out here. She needed a change of scenery. "You're not okay, I know that. I see it," I understood her.

Silence took over and Kat hadn't glanced at me once since I stood up there beside her. "I'm sorry..." I apologised to her. "I failed you, all of you," I admitted my mistakes, lowering my head as my hands rested on my hips.

Everything that had happened, it was on me. "I was the one who convinced us to do this," I knew my faults and I didn't fear admitting them now. "It's my fault Daryl got taken," I took full responsibility for Daryl's capture.

My words though, affected Kat more than I knew. Slowly, she turned to face me. "It was none of our faults dad," Kat said, her eyes finally meeting mine. "It just happened," she tried to brush over it.

"Those deaths, aren't on any of us," Kat tried to convince me. "It was going to happen if we liked it or not," Kat sounded so sure of this.

The fact she was convincing herself this, made me believe it too. "Be it the Saviors catching us on a trip out, or be it they came knocking at our gates, they would of come for us," she listed all the possible ways they would of caught up to us.

"That was their plan all along, they were destined to find us, no matter our options, actions or our decisions," Kat was so sure of this. I had never seen her so confident about something she believed in, especially not something like this.

Slowly, Kat turned away from me again and stared out to the distance. "That was their plan all along," she declared, positive in her opinion of what destiny had already put us in the path of.

Trying my best to accept that, I nod and swallowed hard. Lowering my gaze on the ground, I then thought over my words. Over my questions.

Raising my head, I looked to my daughter, who stood tall and hard at her post. Like a real soldier. "Kat, why are you here?" I asked her. "Why are you taking watch?" I questioned her choice in doing this.

Briefly, her eyes met mine, all before she looked back to the distance. "Because I have to be," she was vague in her answer but I took it as an answer nevertheless.


DPOV

Being forced out of the building, the tall walls were safe, guarded by a fence and walkers. There were two guys out there, doing God knows what, as they stumbled around, forcing walkers into places where they would stay stood still.

One guy got grabbed. I wanted nothing more than to go out there and help him, knowing they were being forced to do this kind of labour for Negan. Dwight's lip twitched as he watched how these guys struggled with the walkers.

Mostly, as one tried to keep one off him but didn't have the weapons to protect himself. Suddenly, Dwight rose my crossbow and fired a bolt into the walker's head. This let the guys carry on surviving, doing their job for Negan.

"You know, I'm getting the hang of this thing," Dwight told me, as he showed me the crossbow, acting like we were friends or something.

I haven't forgotten. He killed Denise, with my crossbow. With my bolt. Not looking at him, I kept watching the guys as they struggled with the walkers surrounding them. The moment I looked away, Dwight grabbed me by my neck.

Forcing me against the fence, I was forced to watch the guys struggling to survive out there. "That's you, asshole," Dwight snarled, forcing me to get a good look.

"Unless you're smart. Your choice," Dwight warned me of what could happen if I didn't choose wisely. "You could be like them..." he looked to the guys who were struggling to do whatever the hell they were doing.

"...or me," this was another option Dwight was giving me. "Or them," he finally gestured to the walkers that surrounded us with where he was looking. The options were not many and all of them were the same kind of prison sentence.


KPOV

Sat in my room, all alone, I couldn't lay down anymore. I could hardly think. My nights felt worse the more I forced myself to sleep. It didn't work. It never did. The bed was always empty. Memories always flooded me, of Daryl, of the nights we shared, of the moments we were completely ourselves.

When I forced myself back to reality, away from the memories, I would cry but eventually, I had none left to cry. I needed a way to get him back. I needed to find a way to bring him back. As I sat there, thinking of ways, I always wound up with more problems than solutions to them.

A knock on the door, so light, I barely heard it. My head turned. "Kat, are you alright?" Carl's soft voice called as his footfalls became softer the closer he got to me.

Biting my lip, Carl took a seat on the bed beside me. "No," I told him, shaking my head and bowing it as the tears began to fall.

"Is this about Daryl?" Carl asked me calmly. Nodding, I hiccuped a cry as I felt his hand slip to brush my back. "Come here," he encouraged me to lean into him for a hug.

Lowering my head onto his shoulder, his arm wrapped around my shoulders as he held me. Letting out a few cries, I tried to calm myself and eventually, all of it stopped. Sniffling, I sat back up and clasped my hands together.

Feeling guilty for the other night, I had to explain myself to him. "I didn't want to reject you the other night the way I did," I began by apologising to him this way. "I just..." I paused, trying to find the right words to use.

Deciding for transparency, that was my best and only option. I can't lie to him. I never could. "It's not that I didn't want you here with me, I did," I reassured him it was just me and my screwed up mind.

"I just...I want him back," I sighed out.

Leaning into him again, he gently rubbed up and down my bicep, the same way mom used to when she found me upset. "We'll get him back," Carl was certain of this. "One way or another," he told me.

Nodding, I pulled back and looked at him. "You're right," I agreed with him, blues meeting with baby blues. "We will," I had to be confident we'd get him back. "One way or another," I repeated his words. Set on getting Daryl back, one way or another.


DPOV

As the door opened, Dwight tossed me back into my cell. Grunting as I landed on my hands and knees, I turned so I would sit. "Make it easy on yourself," Dwight asked of me to be smart about this.

Something in me, just wouldn't do as he wanted me to. "I ain't ever gonna kneel," I told him. Now he wants to help me? It's too late for that now.

"Yeah, I said that, too," Dwight could empathise with me but unlike him, I wouldn't kneel to Negan. Not now, not ever.

Remembering how Dwight would say he would never kneel, how these people lived under rules that were batshit. I remembered all of it. "Yeah, I know," I made him know that I remembered that day like it was yesterday.

"See..." Dwight said before a long sigh left him. "...that's the thing, man. You don't," he argued with me, as he tried to make comparisons between us. "But you're gonna," Dwight warned me before the door shut and the lock clicked.

Silence didn't last long, as darkness soon met with the loud, obnoxious and far too cheerful song echoing through the halls. Hold on. Hold on for Kat. For Maggie. For everyone back home.

We're on Easy Street. And it feels so sweet. 'Cause the world is but a treat. When you're on Easy Street. And we're breaking out the good champagne. I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train. And when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats. Right here on Easy Street.

My head ached the more it heard this song but I held my ground. Don't break to their stupid mental torture.

Covering my ears, I then looked for a key, tried to pry the door open, checked the gap under the door and then just began throwing solid kicks to the door. I needed to get out of here. I need to get back home.


RPOV

Sitting up, I was panting, having a nightmare, it consisted of far too many things. My body was just as depraved of sleep as I imagined others from that night were. Like Maggie, Sasha, Rosita. Daryl, Kat.

The thought of my daughter too, had mixed with my nightmares too, as my subconscious took over too. Rubbing at my face, I had felt so worn out, so exhausted, I wanted to just sleep forever.

But no one could and I couldn't, not with Negan's arrival getting closer each day it got closer to the week Negan had warned us he'd come.

Not hearing Michonne shift, or wake up, I did feel her hands gently hold onto my shoulders. "Is it them again?" Michonne asked me groggily from her waking from her sleep. Some nights, none of us slept.

The image of Glenn, of Abraham, it was something plastered to my mind and I could never be rid of it. "Not just them," I answered her. "It's Kat..." I sighed and looked over my shoulder at her.

"I'm worried about her," I told Michonne honestly. "And I'm worried about him too," I referred to Daryl. Not only was Kat worried about her boyfriend, but so was I. He's family.

Just the thought of Kat, of Daryl, of anyone else in potential danger, it made me fear any possibility imaginable. "They could be beating him, torturing him, threatening to kill him every single day," I listed all that played on my mind.

Worst part about it, was I had my hands tied. "And I can't do anything about it," I sighed, shaking my head as it fell into my palm. Rubbing my temples, I hated this stress, this worry on my shoulders.

"Daryl is strong," Michonne squeezed my shoulders gently. "He'll hold on for as long as he can, until we get him back," she was sure about this.

How she was so confident, proved she'd always been a steady rock, just like Kat in my life. "I've been thinking about that, a lot," I told her truthfully. "Maybe...if we do everything the Saviors ask, give them whatever they want, comply with their requests."

"Keep them entertained and happy," this was all part of my plan. "Maybe...I'll ask Negan if we can have Daryl back here with us," I told Michonne my idea. "You think that could work?" I asked her as I looked over my shoulder at her once more.

Her eyes were soft, features gentle and warm. "Yeah," Michonne answered me after a few seconds of silence. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," she agreed with me.

Her head fell to press her lips against the back of my shirt. "It's a good plan, Rick," she agreed, nodding at me as she smiled sadly. I only hope it works.


DPOV

Once more, the music played again, the cheerful beat and tune would drive anyone insane but I was keeping as strong as I could. Music never phased me, beatings didn't either. It only made me stronger. I can get through this.

As soon as the door unlocked, I had seen the shadow appear before the sounds were muffled by the music that blasted. Who appeared behind the door, was the same guy who had the gun pointed at me when I was forced to sit down and wait for Negan and Dwight to talk.

The guy had held out the sandwich to me, instead of throwing it, tossing it at me or dumping it on the floor or my lap, he offered it. Slowly, I approached him. Thinking he was going to take it away, or hurt me.

I didn't fear him, but I didn't trust him either. Using one hand to prop myself up off the floor a little, I reached up with the other and took the sandwich from him. My eyes on him, as he stared at me, I was stunned.

He hadn't hurt me. He didn't treat me like an animal, even if he was giving me the same dog food sandwich. Eating the food given to me, the music ended and the guy shut the door behind himself.

What I didn't hear, was the sound of the door locking behind himself, or the music being put on repeat. Just when I thought I was clear, it was back on and this time, with luck. Checking under the door, I left the pieces of the sandwich on the ground and began checking to see if the door was open.

It was, as it slowly pushed open, I tried to keep the noise to a minimum, because I knew if anyone heard me, they'd come running. Sneaking through the walls, it all looked clear, safe but I would keep quiet, slow, as to not alert anyone.

Seeing one guy go into a room, I sneaked around as quietly as I could and had felt myself getting closer and closer to freedom. I'm coming Kat. I'm coming home.

Suddenly, footsteps were approaching, a large group of them, as they walked past the same door the one guy went through, I waited until the coast was clear. Walking down the hall, I checked the left hall, to see if any more were going to patrol the same way. So close to an exit, I could almost taste freedom.

Just as I thought I was safe, I felt a hand tug on my shirt and turn me to them. Bringing my fist up, I grunted with worry for my safety. And saw the sad, equally spooked expression of Sherry's looking at me. Lowering my fist, I had no reason to hit her but trust her, I couldn't either.

"Go back while you can. You know I did," she advised me. "Whatever he's done to you, there's more. There's always more," she told me. "You won't get away. And when you're back, it'll be worse," Sherry continued to warn me of what could happen.

Ignoring her, I checked the halls again and continued to sneak through. Finding an exit, I saw my ticket sitting there. Bikes. Lots of them. Slipping out the door, I raced quietly over to the bikes and began checking them.

Needing to find a key in one of them, I needed to get out. Hold on Kat, I'm coming home. If I didn't find one soon, I was going to run if I had to. The sound of a door opening, a man appearing from behind it, I raced over to him. But more of them came out from different doors, boxing me in as I prepared for a fight.

Soon enough, I heard Negan's whistling echoing out over to me. The guy who fed me, having a gun pointed right at me again. Hearing Negan's chuckles, while the others circled around me, Negan pushed past the guys to get in the circle with me.

Sighing as he got to me, he smirked at me. "Are we pissing our pants yet?" he asked me. A small smile was on his face but soon fell as he stared directly at me. "Who are you?" he questioned before pointing to a guy behind him with his bat.

"Negan," the guy answered, the same one who had the gun pointed at me and fed me today.

Negan's eyes never left mine as I glanced between the men who were surrounding me. "Who are you?" Negan asked again, this time pointing to the one directly behind him.

The same guy I almost fought when he first got out of the building. "Negan," the guy answered Negan.

Grinning, Negan kept the same stance and tilted head all throughout this little show. "Who are you?" he raised his arms, encouraging all of them to speak.

"Negan," all of them said at the same time.

Chuckling to himself, Negan was proud of the system he had in place. Of the loyal subjects who claimed they were him. "You see that? I am everywhere," Negan proved to me he had complete control of this place.

I fell straight into a trap. "And this was your shot to prove to me that that fundamental fact was sinking in, and you failed. Which sucks, because your life was about to get so much cooler," Negan gave me a little lecture. "Am I right?" he asked for an answer.

The guy who held the gun at me shook his head and smirked. "Damn right," he agreed with Negan's statement that my life was about to get 'so much cooler'.

What happened next, was Negan took his bat and hit it against the floor, close to my feet. Shuffling before it could hit me, away from it, I heard him chuckle before I saw it each time I dodged his hits.

Sighing briefly, Negan took a few steps back and wiped at his face. "Now, Dwight gave you some options," Negan told me. "I don't think you get it yet. So I'm gonna break it down for you," Negan acted like he was being kind to me.

"You get three choices," Negan stated how many there were. "One, you wind up on the spike and you work for me as a dead man," he gave me the first option. "Two, you get out of your cell, you work for points, but you're gonna wish you were dead," this was the second.

"Or three, you work for me, you get yourself a brand-new pair of shoes, and you live like a king!" Negan declared this to be the best choice out of all of them. "Choice seems pretty obvious."

I ain't ever gonna kneel. "You should know, there is no door number four," Negan spoke with an amused tone in his voice. "This is it. This is the only way," he encouraged of me.

Negan chuckled again, I didn't see the humour in anything as I just glared at him. I am not one of them. I never will be one of them. "Screw it," Negan scrunched his face up with anger, taking hold of the bat, he rose it to swing it down at me.

If he was going to kill me, he would of done it at the line up. He just wants to scare me. Not flinching, I didn't care what happened to me anymore. Hell, I might of welcomed it after what I'd done.

"Wow!" Negan was amused at the fact I didn't flinch and continued to glare at him. "You don't scare easy," he noted. "I love that," he gave his opinion on my lack of fear towards him.

"But Lucille..." Negan began talking fondly about his baseball bat. "Well, it kind of pisses her off. She finds it to be disrespectful," he spoke about the baseball bat like it was a real human person.

Sometimes, I wondered what was wrong with him. "Lucky for you, she's not feeling too thirsty today," Negan reassured me there was no need for blood today. "But I am," he growled and looked me dead in the eye. "So...I'm gonna go get me a drink!" he burst out with a chuckle following shortly after.

Whistling as he left, his bat resting on his shoulder, Negan left me and not long after, all the guys began circling around me. Closing in on me, I rose my fists again, ready to fight and take each of them down before they took me down with them.

Landing a blow to one of their faces, I grabbed hold of another one and punched him in the gut but before I could do any more damage, one grabbed me from my shirt, the other from my back. Shoving me to the ground, blows were being thrown.

From punches, to kicks, they ganged up on me and left me beaten. Every time I tried to get back up, I was beaten, over and over again. Shutting my eyes eventually, I welcomed it. I can't fight. I need to hold on and hold that anger.

Thoughts of Kat were my only comfort and my only pain at the same time. I'm sorry Kat. I'll try again...soon, I hope.


MPOV

Waking up early, I left to see what was going on and to get some sun into my skin. Being with Rick, or with Kat, both of them were having tougher times than I imagined for them since the deaths and the capture of Daryl.

Neither did anything, other than cry, stress or try to find things to do to prepare for what was coming. Inside the house, I had found Carl with Judith and Rick had gone to help Olivia with the stock they had so far.

Kat though, was nowhere to be found. She wasn't training. She wasn't on watch. She wasn't anywhere to be found. "Where's Kat?" I asked around, approaching the watch point that was being guarded by Gabriel. "Has anyone seen Kat?" I asked up at Gabriel.

Glancing down at me, Gabriel was holding onto the strap of his gun proudly and still wore the same priest attire he always wore. If he saw what we had, he would of lost all faith in a God. "Last I saw of her, she had said she was going to look for supplies for Negan," Gabriel informed me.

Instantly hearing that, I knew it was a lie. "Alone?" I questioned him.

"Yes, I believe she took a car," Gabriel nodded, gazing down at me as he responded like this was a normal thing of Kat.

Kat never went out there alone. Only time she would, was if she didn't want anyone to get caught with her. Or if she was doing something stupid. "She went scavenging, alone?" I asked again, hoping he'd understand why I didn't believe this.

Gabriel had no sense of doubt in Kat. "She's a strong, capable girl," Gabriel had the utmost faith in her. "I wouldn't doubt her capabilities," Gabriel only further explained himself to me.

Although, I knew Kat better than the others, evidently. Lowering my gaze, something in my gut told me this wasn't right. "Me neither..." I agreed with him but I was still dubious about the situation in itself.

"I'm going out there," I announced to those around me. Moving towards one of the cars, I climbed in and started the engine. Eugene hadn't opened the gate, instead he left it shut.

Eugene had stayed in front of the gate, blocking me from entering as my window was rolled down. "Is it safe to promptly ask why you are flying solo?" Eugene called over to me.

Glancing to Eugene, I was getting irritated but I kept strong and calm. I had to. "To find Kat and help her," I answered him. "So open the gate," I said kindly. But he didn't move. "Open the gate Eugene," I ordered a little more firmly.

This made Eugene quickly rush to open the gates for me and as they rolled open, I drove to it and stopped beside Eugene. "Tell Rick I'll be back soon," I passed on a message for them to give.

Driving out, I knew exactly where she would go. She's out there, looking for him. Finding the spot where Glenn and Abraham were last alive, the blood patches still stained the ground. Getting out from the car, Kat's own vehicle was parked by it too.

Looking for a trail, or hers that I could follow, I kept searching for her as I wandered through the trees, through the roads and looked for her. Seeing her figure brush past the trees, I followed her. "Kat," I called to her but suddenly, she stopped and was grabbed.

A walker went to devour her as I ran over to her. "Kat!" I yelled as I ran over to her, to save her but she had it under control. Slowing my steps, I stood back and watched her.

"I got it," Kat reassured me before she had kicked the walker down, digging her knife into the side of its skull, it gradually dropped with the rest of his lowered body. The snarling, the clawing, all of it ended.

Kat was safe but she didn't stop. Regathering her breath, she kept moving through the trees and did her best to follow the tracks that were left from those that must have walked back to their camp.

Catching up to her, I took hold of her arm and tried to pull her back. "Stop," I tried to advise her to leave the hunt she was forcing herself to go through. She wants to find him. To find them.

Taking a few steps, I tried to block her path and look into her eyes, seeing as she didn't budge when I forced her back. Her familiar blue eyes were soft, sad. "I can't Michonne, you know I can't," Kat sighed.

Shaking her head, she gently stepped around me before returning to the search for any sign of those that took Daryl. Of any trace of where they must have gone. Letting out a long sigh, I turned and watched as Kat kept walking away from me.

"You're being no different to him when he went out here, looking for Dwight," I called over to her, remembering how Daryl was persistent in his hunt for Dwight.

Hearing these words leave me, Kat stopped and turned around. "Me and Daryl, aren't the same," Kat said over her shoulder. She didn't even care to turn around and face me.

How they were acting, going on a hunt for something they wouldn't find, I knew Kat was just trying her best to bring Daryl back. But she should have known she couldn't do that alone. Her being persistent, her stubbornness, it was very similar to Daryl's way of acting.

"How do you know that?" I asked her.

Turning this time, Kat's whole body tensed up. "Because this is different!" Kat yelled, her whole body whipped to face me. Noticing how she snapped at me, I could see the apology clear in her eyes. "Alright?" her voice softened.

Her whole body trembled. "This is different," Kat tried to be strong but she was crumbling.

Watching her turn her back on me again, I wasn't going to let her go. Not without a fight. "He lead us out here, got us out here looking for him. We got captured, me and Glenn...then it was them," I said, remembering just how everything happened.

"After all of that, they died...Glenn, Abraham," I knew I didn't need to remind her but she needed to see the danger we were both in, just by being out here. "You understand they can be watching us right now, right?"

Lowering her head, I saw the sadness in Kat just by how her body slumped and no longer was tense like it was before. "Which is why I want you to go back. Go home," Kat encouraged me to leave her here.

"I can't risk getting anyone else killed, especially not you Michonne," Kat proved she still cared, for me, for the others. "Please, go home," she begged of me.

Having to watch her leave, Kat didn't turn back, all she did do, was look at me over her shoulder briefly before she continued to look for any trail she might have found. For a second, I was planted there. But everything in me, couldn't leave her behind.

So, I, as always, followed her. I can't leave her out here like this...


DPOV

Sat in my cell, once more, I kept quiet, thought to myself, tried to stay strong. I had to be strong, for those back home, for Maggie and the others. For Kat, Carol, Carl, for everyone. Rick was broken but I wasn't going to let Negan break me.

He'd done his worst so far but to me, he couldn't do anything. It was like he just couldn't touch me. Trembling, I was still trying to regain my strength after the beating I took. Hearing footsteps after I saw the shadow glide under my door, I tensed up.

I was ready to fight this time, if it was someone willing to come in here and hurt me. "Daryl?" a soft female voice called to me. Sherry. "There's so many things I wish I never found out..." she started talking to me.

Her voice trembled, possibly from fear or guilt, or something. "I wish I didn't try...back in the woods...after I lost Tina...when we took your stuff, when we decided to go back..." she reminded me of that awful day. The day that started this whole mess in the first place.

"I told you I was sorry," Sherry reminded me as I kept my eyes on her shadow. "And you said, 'You're gonna be,'" she reiterated my words from before. "I am," she reassured me she was truly sorry this time.

Before I even had the chance to say anything, her footsteps departed from my door. Good. I have nothing left to say to her. What the hell does she have to be sorry for now? It's too late to apologise to me.


KPOV

Searching out here, for what must have been hours, I was hardly finding anything and only going in circles. Any lead, it just disappeared at one point and when I finally did find something, I was stopped by a walker, then by Michonne.

Having her follow me, I tried to walk faster but it only made her jog or walk faster. Running in front of me, she blocked my way from moving any further into the woods. My heart was pounding, my blood pumping and a nauseating feeling was in my gut.

I have to find him. I have to find where they are keeping him. "You know I can't let you do this," Michonne told me as she stopped me where I was. "You're not alone, Kat," her eyes searched for mine but I could hardly think.

All I could do, was feel. "That's the thing!" I yelled as the tears began building up in my eyes. "I am alone, Michonne," I corrected her.

"I sleep, in a bed, that's empty every night," a space that was supposed to be filled, by his warm body, was no longer there. The tears kept pouring as I cried. "Sometimes, I dream that he's going to come in, wrap his arms around me and things are going to go back to the way we were," I cried as I did my best to stare back at her.

Her hands went to hold mine, her own tears began to well up in her eyes. "It will," she nodded at me, trying her best to keep my hope alive.

"You don't know that!" I shouted through my tears. Despite the pain, I held onto her hands, like I depended on her for strength.

"I hate thinking every day, every night, that he should be here," being in Alexandria, not seeing him around, or by his bike, or with Carol, or hovering over me, it was breaking my heart to feel like he was just a ghost to the town now.

My cries were taking over my whole body. "I hate that I'm reminded every night, when I wake up or go to sleep, that he's with them and not with me," I listed the things that upset me.

As my heart shattered, bearing all to Michonne, I wanted to tell Daryl everything, to make him know where I stood when it came to us. "It took us far too long to get to where we are, to a place where I finally thought we were both finally happy," I complained that just when things were finally feeling right, Negan and the others took him from me.

"I can't give up on him, on us," I cried softly, my voice slowly becoming stronger as the tears pooled and rolled down my face. "I can't," I squeezed Michonne's hands in mine.

Michonne's own grasp on me tightened back briefly. "And you don't have to," Michonne too had been crying with me, feeling my pain. "But you have to be smart," she encouraged me to keep my head on.

Her hands went to my face, grasping it gently. "You think Daryl would want you to get captured by them? To get killed because you went out here looking for him?" she threw questions I already knew the answer to. No, no he wouldn't.

"We're going to get him back, together. You and me," Michonne was signing herself up to this fight, to this hunt. Her eyes searched mine. "Come back with me, we'll talk it through, figure it out, together," she forced a smile but hoped I would agree to it.

After a few more tears ran down my face, I stared into my best friend's eyes and nodded slowly. Bringing me in to a hug, I grasped onto her back tightly and held onto her. I need to get him back. But I need to be smart. I need help.


DPOV

The same song was played, over and over again. Now, I just ignored it, I became numb to it. Just as soon as the song came to a stop, I then heard the lock turn and the door open. The sun shone through and I was just pleased that stupid, mind numbing song was off, for now.

This time, it was Dwight again, as his slim hand and watch was in my peripheral vision. I didn't take the sandwich, tired of being here. I just wanted to leave.

Dumping it on the ground, Dwight hung around the door, not inside but not letting me out either. "Eat," Dwight ordered gently but I didn't pick it up.

A soft lip smack before a sigh was heard. "You got your friend killed. I got Tina killed," Dwight spoke up. "And don't pretend like you don't know the score," he said.

Grabbing the stupid sandwich, I tossed it at him and wanted to cave his head in. The same way they caved Glenn's, Abraham's. Dwight almost dodged it but pieces of the dog food went flying everywhere.

Some of it, must have splattered onto him. Crouching down next to me, Dwight glared at me. "You should be dead," Dwight spoke sternly at me, his words almost spoken to me with a growl.

You have no idea. That should have been me, not Glenn. "But Negan's taken a shine to you," Dwight's voice instantly softened. "You're lucky. Don't forget," he spoke like Negan favouring me was a good thing.

Reaching into a pocket, he took out a note or a picture and stuck it onto the wall with tape that was attached to it. "Bon appetit," he groaned out as he had to stretch around me to put the thing onto the wall.

Getting back up, the door closes, the lock clicks and I was left alone again. In the dark, with nothing and no one, but myself and a note of some kind. Just when I thought I'd finally be left in the silence, or with the stupid song again, I began to try to get a good look at the thing on the wall.

It appeared to be a picture but it was too dark to see what it was. Tugging it off the wall, I slapped it down, next to my sandwich, not wanting to give a damn of anything he gave to me. Of the 'privileges' I had.

I then realised the picture was stuck to the wall back to front. Picking it up slowly, I turned it around and what I saw, broke me. Glenn. His head was smashed to pieces, no longer the energetic, happy, optimistic guy I grew to love.

We were family, right from the start. He didn't give up on me. Not even when I had been a dick to him. Now, he's dead. That should have been me. That should have been me...

Silence was a welcome thing as I looked away from the picture and simply held it. Slapping my head to the wall, I wanted to forget everything, to just ignore it all. To fight. To get out of here. Tranquillity wasn't as peaceful as I hoped.

Just as I heard a song begin, I thought it was going to be the same song from before but this time, it was different and it had startled me a little. My head lifting off the wall, I instantly recognised the song.

I was alright. For a while. I could smile for a while.

The song was getting to me already, as I shook my head and could feel tears build in my eyes.

But I saw you last night. You held my hand so tight.

Thoughts of Kat came to my mind, of her smile, of her smell, just everything. Everything was becoming so great between us, we got so far after so long. And now, we were so far apart and all that happened, I didn't know if anything could be fixed.

I didn't know if anyone could ever forgive me after what I did. To Glenn. Leaving Kat behind without talking to her first. I should have stayed with her. I should have never left. I should have talked to her. Now, I'll never know what she wanted to say to me. The song, continued.

As you stopped to say hello. Oh, you wished me well. You couldn't tell.

Deep in my thoughts, I thought to Kat, to the last thing I saw. Her sad face, her sad eyes, her body moving, like she wanted nothing more than to get up and save me. To help me. Why did I have to be such a prick to her? Why did I leave her the way I did? I regretted everything.

That I'd been crying over you. Crying over you.

Thinking of regrets, my eyes landed back to the picture as I slowly picked it up again and glanced at the sad sight of Glenn's corpse. That should have been me. I should of never hit Negan. Glenn would still be alive and I would of gone back home...

Tears began to build without any forewarning. More and more of them began to well up in my eyes.

When you said, 'So long'.

My cries were silent as I bowed my head. Flashbacks of everyone I loved, of Glenn, of Maggie, Rosita, Abraham, Sasha, Eugene, Rick, Carl, Michonne, Carol...Kat. All of them, they came to mind and I just wanted to be back with them.

I wished I had never gone after Dwight. Or punched Negan.

Left me standing all alone. Alone and crying.

My cries were louder, as my whole body shook and my head would move around, I was trying to look for anything. For strength, but I couldn't find anything. Wallowing in my sadness, I didn't get the chance to mourn Glenn, or Abraham after their deaths.

The guilt, the anger towards myself for my stupid actions, all of it, was catching up to me. I should have stayed. I should have never gone out there. I shouldn't have attacked Negan. I could be home right now. Glenn would have been alive. This is all my fault...

The more I thought about it, the more I cried my heart out. Kat. She must hate me now. Not that I blame her. I would give anything to tell her how sorry I was. To take it all back. To take everything back for Maggie too. I'm the reason her father no longer has a father.

Guilt weighed heavier and heavier as my own mind was my prison.

Crying. Crying. Crying. It's hard to understand. But the touch of your hand. Can start me crying. I thought that I. Was over you. But it's true, so true.

Letting it all out, I sobbed and hated myself, hated that I had done this. Crying until I puked, until I could no longer do anything but cry, or be sick, I eventually fell asleep. Passed out on the ground, since I sobbed out my heart, I hadn't eaten, I couldn't eat.

The guilt, the regret, all of it had got the best of me and even if I wanted to eat, I couldn't. My body broke down, the same way my mind had.


RPOV

Once I heard what Kat had done from Michonne, I had listened to Michonne's advice. I had given my daughter time, a break, to get her strength back. From what Michonne told me, Kat had been frantically out there for hours.

None of us had noticed she was even gone. After I thought the time was appropriate to find her, I found her in her room, curled up on her bed, clutching her pillow tightly, her back to the door.

This had been the position we always found her in, ever since the night Glenn, Abraham died and Daryl had been taken, Kat would spend most of her days this way. Most of her nights were like this, with tears silently streaming into her pillow.

Being a father, I had a sixth sense. I knew when my kids weren't fine, mostly it was because I knew when they weren't sleeping. Kat, she'd been having the hardest time sleeping. The worry, it was making her incredibly sick.

So sick, she'd spend countless hours doing nothing but laying in bed and eating like a bird. "Michonne told me what happened today," I announced my presence to her by speaking.

Slowly, I approached her bed and sat down on the empty space Daryl was supposed to occupy. "You can't do that, not anymore," I encouraged her not to repeat her actions from before. Going out there, it was a risk.

If she had been caught, I didn't want to know what could have happened. "Not now," I gently put my hand on her arm.

"If you got caught, if any of the Saviors found out what you were doing out there, they'd kill you, or Carl, or me, or someone else," I feared the possibilities if we made one wrong move. "They could kill us all, they could hurt Daryl worse than they possibly already are," I needed her to see the gravity of the situation.

Silence took over and I could hardly speak as the images of my kids dying, of someone else, dying, it broke me. It made me afraid of what could happen. "I-I-I can't. I can't let that happen," I stuttered, the tears just came naturally now.

"I won't," I sniffled whilst I spoke. "Back when...-when they died...I was-I was so scared," I fought to find the right words through my tears. "Of losing you, of losing Carl, of losing all of you."

The fear, all of it, it was real. "I would of done anything Negan asked me to, if it meant we all had the chance to live. To live another day," I wanted her to understand how difficult it had been, even for me.

"Anything, and I would have done it," I was being honest, because these people, the family we had created out of a group of individuals, meant the world to me.

Giving her arm a soft squeeze, I turned my head to look at her but her back was still to me. Her tears were just as silent as mine were. "I need you to be smart. I need you to not go out there and do something like that again," I pleaded with her.

"I need you to promise me Kat," I needed her to promise me.

Quiet as she was, I could sense she was deliberating only for a second. "I promise," she whispered out to me, clutching the pillow as she laid there.

Not wanting to bother her any longer, I could only hope my daughter would keep her word. Leaning over, I placed a kiss to the side of her head, my hand caressing both her arm and her head. Let me protect you. Let me protect all of us.

When I pulled back, I heard Kat sniffle and let out a small whimper. Hearing her breaking, sad, without her boyfriend here, it broke me. I didn't want her upset but there was nothing I could do. Getting up off the bed, I took a few steps back.

Heading to the door, Kat cried to herself softly and tried to muffle it into the pillow. Just wait for Negan. Please. My breath shaking, I wanted to help her, to tell her it would be alright but I didn't know if it could be. Not this time.

Taking my leave, I felt my heart shatter at the thought of leaving my daughter behind in that state but telling her lies, would only make things worse. I knew this as much.


DPOV

Having been woken up by a drag of my collar, I woke up instantly, quivering as I looked up and saw it was Dwight. Forced to crawl out of my cell and onto my feet, Dwight took me down halls, leading me back to the same room that I had the chance to look into. The room with the red chair.

"Step in," Dwight ordered, once the door was opened and I had been forced inside. Sat upon the recliner, was Negan with a grin on his face and Lucille by his side.

Chuckling at the sight of me, Dwight shut the door behind us and Negan let out a soft 'Ahh,' as he breathed. "Jesus," Negan said, getting to his feet.

"You...look awful," he told me, which I took as a compliment. I don't give a shit. "Don't you worry. We'll have Carson fix you all up," Negan reassured me I'd be taken care of.

Negan had taken a glass off the table that rest beside the chair. "You thirsty?" Negan asked me, offering me the glass. "Here," he encouraged me to take it.

Taking the glass from him, I knew I couldn't drink but I wasn't going to drink anything offered by him. "Ah, hell, I forgot. Your mouth is all..." Negan almost apologised.

"Puffed up like a baboon's ass," Negan mocked my state after the beating I took the other day or earlier, I wasn't sure. "Need a straw?" he asked but I wouldn't answer. "D, give him a straw. What's wrong with you?" Negan ordered Dwight around.

Moving across the room, Dwight did as he was told. "See that guy? He hustles. I like hustle," Negan spoke about Dwight.

I didn't care for what Negan thought, not of me and not of anyone around him. "But believe it or not, things weren't always cool between us. See, D here...he worked for points, him and his super hot wife and her super hot sister," Negan began to tell me the story of his and Dwight's relationship.

The mention of Tina and Sherry, only angered Dwight, from what I could tell, as he snatched the glass from my grasp. "But, see, sis. She needed meds. And that shit is hard to scavenge, so it cost more. Sis fell behind on points, so I asked her to marry me. Told her I would take care of her in sickness and in health, blah blah blah, because I am a stand-up guy," Negan explained everything that had happened. What a hero.

"She tells me that she's gonna think about it. Next thing you know, I'm dealing with an orange situation. Dwighty boy here stole all the medication and took off with his super hot wife and my super hot maybe soon-to-be fiancée," Negan tapped Lucille angrily against the floor.

"So I had to send my guys after him. Because I can't let something like that stand. There...are...rules," he pointed the bat at me.

The more he talked, the more I understood why Dwight, Tina and Sherry ran from them. "Cost me an arm and a leg going after him. And you know what? Dwighty boy?" Negan chuckled to himself as he glanced to Dwight beside me.

"He still got away," I remembered that Dwight did escape but he didn't for long. "But here's the thing. D, he saw the light. He manned up. He came back. He asked for my forgiveness. I like that," Negan commented.

"Made me...take notice. But Lucille..." he drifted as he approached me, the bat too close to me as I leaned away from it. "Well...you know how she is. She is a stickler for the rules," he said with a smile.

"So, Dwight...he begged me not to kill Sherry, which I thought was kind of cute, so I was just gonna kill him," Negan told me what happened. "But then Sherry says that she will marry me if I let Dwight live, which, if you think about it, that's a pretty screwed-up deal, 'cause I was gonna marry her sister until she wound up dead, but...Sherry is super hot."

Hearing all this story, of how Negan offered to marry someone because she was sick, offered a sick form of forgiveness. He had broken up a marriage, to have these two alive. I now understood why Sherry told me she was sorry for what she did to me.

If they had just come with me, we would of all got along, or so I imagined. Denise wouldn't be dead. They wouldn't be divorced. Glenn would probably still be alive. Abraham too.

"Anyways, it was a start," Negan pulled me from my thoughts.

"But it wasn't enough. So Dwight...he got the iron. And then I married his super hot wife. Ex-wife," Negan concluded to that segment of the story. "And then after all that, he still got on board. And now look at him," Negan encouraged me to take Dwight for an example.

"Pow!" Negan yelled enthusiastically. "One of my top guys. And we are totally cool," he commented on the relationship he had with Dwight. "The point being, I think you can be that guy. I think you are ready to be that guy," Negan was convinced I'd be the same as Dwight.

Little did he know, I wouldn't bend. "You look around here. This? Well...it can all be yours. All you got to do is answer one simple question," Negan was offering me the room, for me to sleep in and all I had to do, was say I was Negan.

Raising his arms for a few seconds, he looked to me and asked "Who are you?" to me. Chuckling, I wasn't going to answer him. "What, does the cat got your tongue? You're just overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this?" he questioned me. "I'm gonna ask you one more time," Negan warned me.

His eyes were dark as he approached me slowly. "Who are you?" he questioned me again, the bat placed between us as he leaned in to intimidate me.

What he was doing, wasn't working. Not on me. Silence was enveloping him, as I didn't want to give him any satisfaction. I had already made my mind up. "Daryl," I raised my head and looked directly into his eyes as I answered him.

"Oh. This is the only-" Dwight went to convince me but my mind was set.

I didn't fear him, he knew that and I wasn't going to kneel to him. That would be a disrespect to all the people back home. It wouldn't be true to who I was. "Hey," Negan cut Dwight off and tutted to the both of us.

A grin on his face, one that was cold as he gazed into my eyes. "It's cool, D," Negan reassured Dwight as he gazed into my eyes coldly, as smile on his face. "He made his choice. Ain't my problem if he made a dumbass choice," Negan commented on my decision.


KPOV

Up, early in the morning, I had felt nauseous and since then, I could hardly get back to sleep. Focused on the map, I was ruling out the places we knew about, of the camps the Saviors had and I had noted the spot we were when Glenn and Abraham died.

Looking through the possible things we could find, in the area, places the others could hide, I tried to pinpoint where they could have taken him. Footsteps had approached but so focused on my work, I hadn't heard Michonne approaching.

"What's this?" her voice asked me curiously as she looked over my shoulder at my research.

Trying to remember what directions they drove off to, I had to figure out where and what could be found in whatever direction they went in. "I'm trying to figure out where they went," I told Michonne honestly. "Where they could go," I added.

Michonne's body tensed up beside me. "Kat," Michonne's voice showed concern and slight exasperation. "You promised your dad you'd-" she went to say but I had to stop her from continuing on.

"I know but..." I cut her off quickly. "I can't stop thinking about it," I told her honestly.

As transparent as I was around Michonne, I knew she'd understand my need to keep looking, to find where they could have taken Daryl. "Your dad has a plan," Michonne told me.

Slowly, I turned to hear out this plan. "He's going to do everything he can to please Negan, to keep all of us safe from him and maybe, if it all runs smoothly...your dad will ask if Daryl can come back and live with us," Michonne had informed me of my father's plan.

The whole thing could have worked, if Negan was a merciful soul but I doubted he was. Not after everything he did. "And what if that doesn't work?" I asked Michonne.

I wanted to be hopeful but our options were more and more limited. "I went out there, because I needed to find out more. Where their camps are, where they could have taken Daryl. Anything," I explained why I had done what I did.

The risk, was one I was willing to take but only alone. "It's obvious they know more about us, than we know about them," I argued calmly.

Michonne let out a soft scoff. "Glenn said something similar to that," Michonne spoke sadly. "Right before we got kidnapped," she informed me of when it had been.

"He said that, right at that minute, the Saviors could be at our gates, they could be learning more about us than what we knew about them," Michonne had basically said the same thing I had moments ago, except Glenn's was an assumption.

Mine, was a fact. "He thought the same as you," Michonne informed me.

My mind raced, something in me, told me Negan wouldn't accept my dad's first plan. I had a sense I needed to have a plan B if my dad's idea didn't work. "There has to be another way to get Daryl back," I wanted to be hopeful.

"There has to be," I had to be hopeful.


DPOV

Tossed back into my cell, I grunted as my hands came up to protect me from colliding into the wall. Getting into a corner, I sat down and looked up at Dwight. "You're gonna wind up in that room or hanging on the fence!" Dwight yelled at me.

Swallowing hard, I understood that Dwight was trying to look out for me but I didn't want to be a part of this group. I have a group. I have a family. I don't have a ruler, like these people do.

"I get why you did it," I spoke up. "Why you took it," my words had stopped Dwight from shutting the door on me. My eyes rose to meet his. "You were thinking about someone else," I knew he had been thinking about Sherry, about Tina.

The thought of Kat, of Maggie, of Glenn, of Rick, of everyone I ever loved. I knew I couldn't bend. I couldn't let Negan get what he wanted from me. I'm not going to turn against my own people.

"That's why I can't," I was being completely transparent with Dwight. Hearing enough, Dwight shut the door and locked me back in my cell.


A/N: I know, poor Daryl. Poor Kat. But get ready, because the princess, is about to be a queen in this season. You'll understand soon enough. Just be ready.

As usual, 5 reviews. OR NO CHAPTER OUT AS SOON AS TOMORROW.

Questions to answer in the reviews:

1) What did you think of this chapter?

2) Favourite scene in this chapter?

3) What did you think about the problems rising with Daryl being gone?

4) What do you predict Kat's plan B is?

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HeroJustInTime90